it was joe biden the president turned to. the president chose joe biden for a reason. a creature of the senate, he said at the lunch today, he will always be a senator. and joe biden is his brain trust, his institutional memory, there is the guy. >> and to get it done -- get it done there. i think he is the best vice president of my lifetime. because i don't think that dick cheney's effectiveness of torture is something -- >> for good or evil. >> and doesn't it also go to the kind of leader that barack obama has been, not only for the country, but for the democratic party. johnathan's point, joe biden was an early rival, who he said very inopportune statements about him. he is super excited if he is confirmed to take on this role. it is a different kind of democratic leadership. people who follow the democratic party on its ups and many downs remember how many other rivals and nominees have been left on the side of the road. and left, really to be seen as somehow an embarrassment, even if they stood for good things, al gore for many years, michael dukakis, and it goes